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As the number of people needing humanitarian assistance in western Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region rose to almost 3.5 million people, the United Nation peacekeeping mission's access dropped to less than three-quarters of those in need, the lowest rate since April of last year, according to the latest figures available.

Troop movements have been noticed on both sides of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border, where the two countries fought a war from 1998 to 2000, and where restrictions on United Nations peacekeeping patrols continue, with many being prevented from going off main roads to carry out their monitoring functions.

In his continuing efforts to assist the political transition in Iraq, the senior United Nations envoy in the country today met with Vice President Ghazi El-Yawar to discuss the elections scheduled in two weeks' time.

Under the 2005 banner "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise," the United Nations system around the world today observed World AIDS Day through the launch of new initiatives and through ceremonies at the largest cathedral in New York, cricket stadiums in Lahore and Auckland, and a range of other venues.

A decade of terminological overlap came to an end today when the United Nations World Tourism Organization, previously known as the WTO, added the letters UN to its acronym to differentiate it from the World Trade Organization.

Facing lost revenues of some $5 billion annually as a result of illegal logging, governments are becoming increasingly innovative – and effective – in tackling the problem, according to a new United Nations report.

The threat of a wave of additional deaths among earthquake survivors in northern Pakistan is becoming more acute with each passing day as families continue to arrive in relief shelters, fleeing the sudden advance of winter, according to the latest report from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

As agreed between United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe during the September World Summit, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland will make a fact-finding five-day trip to the Southern African country for which the UN just appealed for $276 million in assistance.

Saying the situation in Cyprus was calm but "progress toward a political solution remains negligible at best," United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today recommended that the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force there be extended for six-months, under its present authorized strength.

United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari will attend the 23rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of Africa and France this weekend, focusing on harnessing the vitality, creativity and aspirations of African youth.